Hearing God and Mental Illness – Lyn Packer

Lyn Packer thought that one day she’d end up in a mental institution. As a young prophet, she experienced revelatory encounters on a regular basis, but didn’t understand the nature of her gifting. Her church wasn’t much help either since they didn’t believe in modern-day prophecy. So Lyn just thought she was weird.Mixed in with the confusion, Lyn was suffering the effects of sexual abuse from the hands of both her father and grandfather up until the age of 16. Again her church wasn’t much help – they frowned on both medication and professional counselling. That left Lyn to work out much of the healing journey on her own. Thankfully the Holy Spirit stepped in, leading her step by step into a place of healing and wholeness. Today, Lyn draws on the wisdom of her experience to talk about an area that is often fraught with unhelpful and misguided ideas. You’ll love hearing her story and the insights that she brings.In the episode, you’ll hear about:Lyn’s back story – how she became a Christian at 16 in a youth meeting and how her decision to follow Jesus led to a confrontation with her father and grandfather about their abuse. At that point the abuse stopped, but Lyn still slept with a knife under her pillow in case they tried to attack her again.“The Christian meeting was bound to be a little better than watching my grandparents at home getting drunk.”Lyn’s call to be a prophet as she read from the book of Isaiah (even when she didn’t know what a prophet was!)“I used to think I was weird because even as a child I could see stuff in the Spirit.”Lyn’s long healing journey beginning in her early 30s. During this time, she would be triggered by something, a traumatic memory would surface and she’d find herself shaking in the bathroom. She was later diagnosed with dissociative amnesia, complex post traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder and generalised anxiety. She lived with this condition daily – even as a pastor. At first Lyn suffered in silence, trying to deal with it on her own, but then the Holy Spirit led her to embrace medication and counselling as well as prayer.Some of the spiritual encounters that were instrumental to Lyn’s healing, including a vision she had while lying on the bed where the abuse took place.How to discern the difference between the voices of the demonic, the effects of trauma and the voice of the Holy Spirit.The relationship between healing and forgiveness. Lyn explains that forgiveness requires healing first – not the other way around. “To say, ‘just forgive and get healed’ is like putting a bandaid on an infected wound. It just covers it so you can’t see what’s underneath. True forgiveness comes only as you heal.”Some advice for pastors and leaders, including the role of anti-depressants, the fear and shame associated with exposure and the importance of being trauma-informed.Next StepsJoin the journey to hearing God’s voice. Start your free 7-day ⁠God Conversations devotional ⁠today!Pray, promote and give. God Conversations is donor-funded and made possible through the generosity of people like you! ⁠Become a partner today⁠.Equip your church to hear God’s voice. ⁠Join our community of ministry leaders⁠ for monthly insights and a free preview of 50 Days of God Conversations resource.